Patiala Range Deputy Inspector General, A S Chahal said the armed men broke into the jail between 8:30 am to 9:00 am on the pretext that they had come to take some inmate for a court hearing.

Police said a group of youths dressed in police uniform stormed the jail and opened indiscriminate fire at the jail.( Express Photo by Harmeet Sodhi)

A group of armed men, disguised as cops broke into Nabha jail on Sunday morning and helped as many as six inmates, including Khalistan Liberation Force militant Harminder Singh Mintoo, escape. Mintoo was arrested in 2014 by Punjab police from Indira Gandhi International Airport on his return from Thailand.

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Kashmir Singh, who was arrested for an attack on Shiv Sena Punjab Secretary Harvinder Soni in April last year, also escaped as the armed men resorted to heavy firing. The other four who escaped from the jail were gangsters Vicky Gounder, Gurpreet Sekhon, Amandeep Dhotian and Kulpreet Neetu aka Neeta Deol.

The six inmates who escaped from Nabha Jail today. (Express photo by Harmeet Sodhi)

According to police, six to eight persons in police uniforms came on four vehicles Toyota Fortuner (white color) Hyundai Verna (white), Honda City (white) and Hyundai i20 (beige color) and fired several shots before escaping with the six inmates.

Mintoo was arrested in 2014 by Punjab police from Indira Gandhi International Airport on his return from Thailand. (Express Photo by Harmeet Sodhi)

Police believed they fled towards Haryana. An alert was sounded in the adjoining states of Haryana, Rajasthan and and special check posts were set up to nab the accused.

Patiala Range Deputy Inspector General, A S Chahal said the armed men broke into the jail between 8:30 am to 9:00 am on the pretext that they had come to take some inmate for a court hearing.

Mintoo is allegedly involved in a number of cases including for an attack on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2008. (Express Photo by Harmeet Sodhi)

Chahal said 25 to 30 empty shells had been recovered from the site. DIG said the men were attired in police uniforms with one of the men wearing the uniform of a Sub Inspector and remaining wearing uniforms of constable ranks.

Mintoo is allegedly involved in a number of cases including for an attack on Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in 2008.